Smarter Than a Whip: Eva Roemaat's First Tutorial

I can't wait to see more of these. I love watching her with Shilas & Flip. Do check out her YouTube channel!

Unconventional "Training": What This Blog is About

In August 2013 I woke up with a revelation: Natural Horsemanship in all its guises isn't really natural. It's great, don't get me wrong... it's a HUGE improvement over older methods.

But here's the one fundamental thing it's missing: No one asks the horse, "Do you want to?" It's still always "You must... but I'll ask politely."

So that morning I canceled my Parelli membership (again, I'm not bashing Parelli, I think it's a wonderful thing... it's just not a perfect fit for us). I decided that my horses and I are TRULY partners.. equal partners. They have a say in what we do each day and in what "work" we are doing.

My horses spend every part of every day on about 50 acres, doing what horses do. They are almost never stalled, not haltered in the field, not blanketed in the winter, never shod. Sometimes I have to go looking for them. But when I come to see them, they immediately come to me. I absolutely never have to "catch" them; they WANT to be with me, and if they're across the valley, they'll gallop to where I'm standing... this gives me chills. This is the magic that every child who watched or read The Black Stallion dreams of. It's mine. This is a miracle I live every day, and am grateful for every day, and one I'd love to share with others.

I clicker train. I find it an invaluable tool that I don't think I'll ever dispense with completely, but again, by itself it isn't the Connection. It's a tool, the same as a whip or a rope (yes, I use a whip as a cue tool from time to time). Clicker training is the means by which you say "YES! That's exactly what I wanted, what you were doing RIGHT AT THAT SECOND." Hugely useful. It's great for my left-brained horse (food motivated) and my right-brained horse (who is unsure of herself and gains reassurance from knowing exactly when she did right).

But I was looking for more. Something more... spiritual.

I found a few trainers - all women - who are doing things that speak to my soul. I'll provide some links below. But I read Imke Spilker's book Empowered Horses - which I HIGHLY recommend if any of this appeals to you - but there's no step-by-step in there. TONS of good info, but no cut and dried how-to.

And then it hit me......

The horses are my teachers.

This is the tale of what they have to say.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Eva Roemaat's First Tutorial

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Unconventional "Training": What This Blog is About

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